Biography - Gina Bellman (Jane)

Gina Bellman was born in New Zealand and came to England at the age of 11.

"I started elocution lessons because I was being teased, and I had a brilliant drama teacher. At the age of 14 I appeared at the National Theatre in The Crucible.

"I carried on acting during school holidays and was all set to go to drama school when I was offered my first professional job appearing in King David with Richard Gere.

"So I packed all my school books away and went to Italy on a $14m picture."

She became a household name after appearing in Dennis Potter's drama Blackeyes, although she says she always knew she wanted to do comedy as well.

Gina Bellman's other television credits include: Waking the Dead (BBC); Jonathan Creek (BBC); Metropolis (Granada); Ted and Ralph (BBC); David (TNT); Sharman (World Prods); Little Napoleons (Channel 4); Horse Opera (Initial); Orpheus and Euridice (Jim Henson Prods); Mussolini (NBC) and an episode of Only Fools and Horses entitled The Unlucky Winner Is (BBC).

Other films include: Sitting Ducks; Pressure Points; Married Unmarried; Seven Days to Live; Paranoia; Silent Trigger; Everything I Like; Secret Friends and Leon the Pig Farmer.

Theatre includes: Insignificance (Royal Theatre, Northampton); JJ in Beautiful People (Stephen Joseph Theatre); Karen in Speed-the-Plow (Duke of York's Theatre); Imogen in Cleo, Camping, Emmanuelle and Dick (Royal National Theatre); Twilight of the Golds (Arts Theatre); Ophelia in Hamlet (directed by Peter Hall); Janet in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (Piccadilly Theatre); The Crucible (National Theatre) and Tartuffe (Palace Theatre).